Vending-machine.



C. A. JAEGER.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 9. 1913.

1 175,357. Patented Mar; 14, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- Tm: COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co. WASHINGTON, n. c.

C. A. JAEGER.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED oc1.9, 1913.

1,175,357. Patented Mar, 14,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Tm: COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

CHARLES A. JAEGER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 14, 1916.

Application filed. October 9, 1913. Serial No. 794,244.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES A. JAEGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object the provision of an improved form of vending machine which is especially adapted to dispense or vend flat articles such as tokens or tickets, the device of my invention being capable of use either with or independently of a coin controlled mechanism, but preferably in connection with the latter.

It is one of the objects of my invention to provide a plurality of stacks of tickets or tokens arranged in casings so as to discharge to a delivering device, and in this connection, my invention has for its object the arrangement of the delivery means and stack casings in such a manner as to insure the loading of delivering means irrespective as to whether or not the stacks in one or more cases may have become exhausted.

A further object of my invention consists in connecting the delivering means with a prime mover so as always to impart an operative thrust to the delivery means, the latter being held against movement by a trip device, which latter is adapted for actuation by a coin or token.

Further features of novelty and structure will be more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be more particularly pointed out in and by the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1, is a vertical sectional view of a ticket vending machine embodying one form of my invention. Fig. 2, is a sectional view on line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3, is a plan view of a delivery means embodied in the form of a flat disk. Fig. l, is a plan view of an upper hearing or retaining plate. Fig. 5 is a plan view of an upper supporting plate.

Referring to the form shown, 1, designates a pedestal upon which a housing or casing 2, may be mounted, the casing 2, being shown cylindrical in form. The top of the casing is open and may be closed by a lid 3, having any suitable means for locking the same as indicated by 4:.

Within the casing 2, I mount a lower supporting and retaining member or plate 5, which may be provided with a downwardly projecting flange 6, adapted to be secured to the casing as by means of screws 7. The lower supporting plate is provided with a centrally disposed opening 8, which extends laterally to its periphery and which is enlarged as indicated at 9, the purpose of which will presently appear.

An upper supporting plate is indicated at 10 with a centrally disposed opening 11, which extends to its periphery, as indicated at 12. Said plate 10, as indicated at 13, may be secured to the casing 2, by screws or the like 14, in slightly spaced relation above the supportlng plate 5. Between said retainmg plates I dispose delivery means which is in the form of a disk 15, which is provided with a plurality of carrying or advancing means which may be in the form of openings 16. "When the delivery means is in the form of a circular disk, the openings 16, will be concentrically disposed in an annular row about the center of the disk.

An operating shaft 17, is vertically disposed and is journaled at its lower end at 18, in the bottom wall of the casing. A hearing 19, is provided in the lid 3. Said shaft 17, passes through an opening 20, in the delivery disk 15, and said opening is provided with radial notches 21, into which pins 22, on the shaft 17, project so as to nonrotatively connect the shaft with said carrier. A constant driving thrust is imparted to the shaft 17, by means of a prime mover which may consist of a clock train. As illustrated, a barrel 23, containing a suitable clock spring, (not shown), is suitably journaled in the lower wall of the casing and is provided with a barrel gear 24:,

mounted on a winding arbor 25. The gear wheel 24, is the first unit of an increasing train and the same meshes with a pinion 25, on the arbor of which a gear wheel 26, is mounted. The gear wheel 26, meshes with pinion 27, on the arbor of which a gear wheel 28, is mounted. Shaft 17, is provided with a pinion 29, which meshes with wheel 28.

A plurality of stack casings 80,.all of like construction are disposed in a circular row in concentric relation with respect to the shaft 17 and in such radial distance therefrom as to register with the carrier openings 16, when the latter are abreast of the ends of the casings 30. The casings 30, are preferably cylindrical in form, as shown, and v thesame are flanged at their lower ends as h-il indicated at 31, where they may be secured to the upper retaining and supporting plate 10. Said stack casings 30, extend upwardly in the casing 2, through openings in a support 32, toward and preferably to the lid 3, the upper ends of said casings being open. The articles to be vended are disposed in the casings and if the articles are in the form of tickets or tokens, as indicated at 33, they will be shaped to fit the casings 30, with a very slight working clearance and will be secured therein in superposed relation. By reference to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the tickets 33, will discharge into the openings 16, through suitable openings 34:, in the upper retaining plate 10. In order to insure downward movement of the tickets, in case the same might frictionally engage the casing and prevent downward movement, I provide means in the form of weights 35, which are disposed on the top of each stack. lhe weights 35, are provided with pins 36, the ends of which pro ect through or into grooves 37, disposed longitudinally in the casings 30, so as to guide the weights downwardly in the casings. In charging the casings with tickets, a hook or like implement can be connected with the pins 36, to lift the weights out.

1 preferably make the carrying disk 15, equal in thickness to the thickness of a ticket or article to be vended so that when one of the openings 16, comes into registry with one of the openings 34, a ticket lodged in the latter will freely descend into an opening 16, and will be advanced by rotation of the disk 15. lVhile the tickets or articles are being advanced by the plate 15, they will be retained in the openings 16, by imperforate portions of the retaining plates 5 and 10, until the tickets reach a vending or delivery position, which will be, in the pres nt construction, a point between the openings 9 and 12. At the point of delivery 1. provide an inclined chute 38, which delivers to the receiver 39, disposed in convenient accessibility exteriorly of the casing.

Means is provided for checking rotation of the shaft 1?, and the carrier disk 15, when the same are advanced throughout a movement equal to the distance between the centers of the two adjacent openings 16, so that when the carrier disk 15, comes to a position of rest one of its openings 16, will register with one of the openings 34, and thereby aflord ample time for descent of the tickets or tokens into the carrier. It will be under stood that the parts are so arranged. that when the carrier comes to a position of rest, one of its openings will be above the chute 38. As shown, a check 40, is fixed to the shaft 17, and is provided with radially extending check arms -11, which rotate in the path of one end of a trip lever 42. The trip lever 12, is pivoted at $3, and when its free end a l: is depressed, the opposite end. of the trip lever will be disengaged from one of the check arms ll, to permit of a partial rotation of the snaft 1'7. In order to preventthe lever 12, from being tilted. too far upwardly I provide a stop which may be in the form of a disk l5, adapted to be fixed to the shaft 17. The disk i5, will also act to cause rebound of, the lever resulting from impact with said disk so as to assist in returning the lever to a checking position in front of the next check arm d1. A stop -i6, serves to limit movement of the lever and normally hold the same in front of the cneck arm 11, the weight of the trip lever being distributed so that it will normally seek the position shown, by gravity,

if it is desired to tally the number of tickets or articles vended, I may provide a counter +5.2, having an actuator 18, adapted to be operated by arms A coin box 50 serves as a mounting for the counter 47, and an opening 51, is disposed so that the tally of the counter can be read when the box is robbed. A door 52, may be provided for access to the coin box 50.

In the present construction, the device is coin controlled and the stop 46, for the end of the lever 42, is the discharged end of a coin chute which is suitably mounted at 5:1, on the casing 2. The chute 53, is disposed at such an inclination that when a coin is inseted therein, its descent downwardly will be sufficiently rapid to insure trip action of the lever 42, so as to release the check wheel 10. An opening 55, near the lower end. of the coin chute, is shaped to afford passage therethrough of a coin of predetermined. denomination into the coin box 50, by gravity. I provide, in advance of the opening 55, one or more openings 56, through which coins of a denomination less than that for which the machine is designed to be operated, will pass into the coin box 50, before such coins reach a position to actuate the lever 42.

It will be seen that each carrier opening 16, will pass beneath each stack of tickets in its travel from a position above the chute 38, to a position over the chute 38, and that if all of the stack casings are charged, such opening will pick up a ticket from the first casing with which it registers. If forany reason the first stack casing should be exhausted, the carrier opening will be loaded from. the next stack casing. Should the tickets in any stack fail to descend into one of the openings 16, for any reason. whatsoever, it will be seen that the opening will be loaded from one of the other stacks prior to reaching a discharge position of the chute 38. Thus it will be seen that I insure delivery to each one of the openings 16 under all circumstances so that failure to deliver a ticket or token will be impossible unless all of the stacks have become exhausted.

It is believed that the advantages and utility of this invention will be clear from the foregoing, and while I have herein shown and described one specific form of my invention I do not wish to be limited thereto except for such limitations as the claims may import.

I claim:

1. A vending machine comprising a casing, an operating shaft mounted between the top and bottom of the casing to be capable of rotation on a vertical axis, a plate secured across the casing near the bottom thereof and provided with a plurality of openings concentrically arranged around the shaft, a stack casing mounted over each of said openings, a supporting plate mounted across the casing spaced slightly below the first plate, means mounted on the bottom of the casing to exert a constant rotating force upon the shaft, a delivery disk mounted within the space provided between the plates, said disk connected to be carried with the operating shaft and provided with openings concentrically arranged around the shaft and spaced apart to register with the openings of the upper plate, said supporting plate provided with a discharge opening at one side thereof, a delivery chute beneath the discharge Opening, a plurality of checks secured on the upper end of the operating shaft to extend radially therefrom and spaced apart to correspond with the spacing of the openings of the delivery disk, and a trip lever pivotally mounted adjacent the path of movement of the checks as the shaft is turned and arranged to normally swing by gravity to a position to engage against one of the checks to stop the shaft with one of the openings of the delivery disk over the discharge opening of the supporting plate so that the article carried by the disk will be precipitated by gravity through the discharge opening and into the discharge chute.

2. A vending machine comprising a cylindrical casing, an operating shaft mounted centrally within the casing etween the top and bottom to be capable of rotation on a vertical axis, a supporting plate provided with an edge flange by which the same is secured within the casing at a point above the bottom thereof, clock work means mounted on the bottom of the casing and connected to exert a constant rotating force upon the operating shaft, a plate secured across the casing at a point spaced slightly above the supporting plate and provided with a plurality of openings concentrically arranged around the shaft, a stack casing connected over each of the said openings to be constantly in communication therewith, the supporting plate provided with a discharge opening at one side and the plate mounted thereabove also being cut away at this point, a delivery disk of a thickness corresponding to the articles to be vended mounted between the supporting plate and the plate carried thereabove and provided with openings concentrically arranged thereon to correspond with the location of the openings of the plate which have communication with the stack, a connection between the operating shaft and the disk by which rotary movement of the shaft is imparted to carry the disk, a delivery chute located within the casing at a point beneath the discharge opening of the supporting disk, a wheel connected on the upper end of said shaft and provided with a plurality of radi-- ally disposed check arms positioned to correspond with the location of the openings through the delivery disk, a trip lever pivotally mounted adjacent the path of movement of the check arms as the same are carried through the turning of the shaft under the impulse of the clock work means and arranged to normally swing by gravity to a position of engagement behind one of the checks to stop the shaft with one of the openings of the delivery disk over the discharge opening of the supporting plate so that the article carried therein will be precipitated by gravity into the delivery chute and the remaining openings of the delivery disk in line with the stack casing to receive an article therefrom, and a plate carried by the shaft to be impacted by the trip lever as the same is moved to the inoperative relation and to cause a rebound of the trip lever to throw the same more quickly to a stopping position.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. JAEGER. Witnesses:

H. HUGLE, D. EGGERKING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

